"The Metagame: A Look Back at the End of Gen 3"

#PokemonGO: tl;drHere are the Pokémon that have been most worth powering up until this point.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveMewtwoPsycho CutShadow Ball*TyranitarBiteCrunchMachampCounterDynamic PunchGengarShadow Claw*Shadow BallTyranitarSmack Down*Stone EdgeRayquazaDragon TailOutrageDragoniteDragon TailOutrageBlisseyZen HeadbuttDazzling GleamSnorlaxZen HeadbuttBody Slam*KyogreWaterfallHydro PumpGyaradosWaterfallHydro PumpRaikouThunder ShockWild ChargeMewtwoConfusionPsychicEspeonConfusionFuture SightAlakazamConfusionFuture SightGardevoirConfusionDazzling GleamVenusaurVine WhipFrenzy Plant*MoltresFire SpinOverheatGroudonMud ShotEarthquake* Denotes moves that are no longer available to newly obtain through TMs and/or evolution (i.e. "Legacy"). IntroductionThis post is mostly an archival record of the state of the Pokémon Go metagame at the end of Gen 3. By describing the trends and playerbase-identified "most useful Pokémon," this can also help answer the common questions of what should I power up?, what should I use rare candies on?, and/or what should I use TMs on?At the end of the Gen 3 era of Pokémon Go, the "Meta" primarily focuses on defeating raid bosses with as few players as possible, attacking/defending gyms, and sometimes taking on community-devised challenges. With these goals in mind, a relatively small group of Pokémon have risen to prominence among the community as Meta-relevant (the short list presented above). Additionally, only some out of the 18 available Pokémon types are deemed useful in the current meta.Despite Gen 4 coming out soon, as well as the upcoming stat rebalance, I think the core mechanics of the meta and the Pokémon listed here will still very much be relevant. Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the ride! The Psychic-Fighting-Dark ProgressionIn pursuit of the goals mentioned, a raid-focused progression has developed as one of the best ways for new/less experienced players to advance, which I'll refer to as the Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark progression. This progression is a rather fun and helpful way for relatively new players to become initiated as a Trainer worth his or her own salt.It begins with a player assembling a full team of Psychic type attackers with the intention of soloing Tier 3 Machamp raids. Since Espeon, Alakazam, and Exeggutor are relatively easy to obtain (depending on one's biome), this is a relatively easily achievable first step. After soloing a sufficient number of Machamp raids, the player then powers up the best Machamp that they have gathered to create a full team of them for battling gyms and for completing Tier 4 Tyranitar raids with fewer numbers of people (eventually down to 2). After amassing an army of Tyranitar, the player then powers them up in order to deal with the large number of Psychic type (Legendary) raid bosses. At the end of this progression, the player will have obtained many of the most meta-relevant Pokémon. The Gym MetaI won't focus too much on the gym meta since there are already many great in-depth analyses on this topic (such as this one from Gamepress). Suffice it to say that HP and Defense are king, meaning most of the best defenders are Normal type titans, making Fighting types like Machamp king of gym attacking. In my opinion, the gym meta is a relatively shallow domain, with the only complexities arising from attacking so that defenders have as little time as possible to remotely feed Golden Razz Berries and choosing what to place in between Blissey, Snorlax, Chansey, and Slaking. PokéDraftA fun, local community run competition that has risen to prominence recently is PokéDraft. It's essentially Fantasy (American) Football, but with Pokémon; a group of players take turns exclusively picking one Pokémon at a time to add to their roster. The idea being that each player must then solo Tier 3 raids using only their selected teams of unique Pokémon and compete with the other players to see who can get the shortest completion times.Although decidedly not focusing exclusively on meta-relevant Pokémon (all the good ones are usually gone after round 2 of drafting), the PokéDraft has become popular among elite players that grow bored of the typical raiding scene. The 3 long months of Regi raids was the ideal environment for which this competition to explode in popularity, even among free-to-play Trainers, who were happy to use their free raid passes for things other than the Regi trio. Success in the drafting phase of PokéDraft does require good knowledge of the conventional Pokémon Go metagame (especially by type), and one could argue that PokéDraft has started to create its own, slightly separate metagame as well (which I won't go into detail on). Meta Breakdown by TypeFor this section, I'll go explain each type's usefulness in the conventional Pokémon Go meta, roughly ordered by that type's importance/usefulness. Below each small table of the meta-relevant choices, I'll include some honorable mentions for each type, which although aren't optimal choices to spend many resources on, still perform very well in their roles. Once again, the compressed table of the most meta-relevant Pokémon can be found at the top of the post. DragonThe go-to generalists, Dragon types are phenomenal attackers, dealing neutral damage to every type except for Steel, Fairy, and Dragon itself (super effective here). With high attack and great all-around stats, these Pokemon are always a great option to battle with.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveRayquazaDragon TailOutrageDragoniteDragon TailOutrageHonorable mentions: Salamence (Dragon Tail/Draco Meteor), Latios (Dragon Breath/Dragon Claw) DarkDark types are quintessential for many raids. In fact, acquiring (many) Tyranitar is the end goal of the Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark progression. With many Psychic-type Legendary raid bosses (Lugia, Latios, Latias, Mewtwo, Deoxys) and its pseudo-legendary stats, Tyranitar is an apex predator for raiding. Sadly, if you can't get Tyranitar, the budget alternatives pale in comparison.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveTyranitarBiteCrunchHonorable mentions: Houndoom (Snarl/Foul Play) FightingArguably the most often used attacking type, Fighting is the go-to type to take on gym defenders. With the vast majority of the best gym defenders being Normal type, Fighting is the best choice from a Damage Per Second point of view. Machamp is also one of the best choices against the Regi trio raid bosses, and soloing Tier 3 Machamp raids is a rite of passage, as well as one of the stages of the Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark progression.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveMachampCounterDynamic PunchHonorable mentions: Hariyama (Counter/Dynamic Punch) PsychicAlthough not particularly useful against Legendary raid bosses, the utility of Psychic types comes from their high attack and their role as the first stage of the Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark progression. Training up a team of Psychic Pokemon in order to solo Machamp raids is one of the early tests for a meta-focused player.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveMewtwoConfusionPsychicEspeonConfusionFuture SightAlakazamConfusionFuture SightHonorable mentions: Latios (Zen Headbutt/Psychic), Exeggutor (Confusion*/Psychic) GhostSimilar to Dark types, Ghost attackers excel at defeating Psychic type Legendary raid bosses. However, the rather restrictive means of obtaining a Ghost type attack team (the best 2 options require no-longer-available "legacy" moves) means that not everyone will be able to form a core team of Ghost attackers.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveMewtwoPsycho CutShadow Ball*GengarShadow Claw*Shadow BallHonorable mentions: Banette (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball) NormalThe only role that Normal types effectively play in the metagame is that of gym defenders. The reasoning is simple: high defense and stamina stats. As such, good gym defender lineups often includes Blissey, Snorlax, Chansey, and Slaking, with some Fighting type counters in between.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveBlisseyZen HeadbuttDazzling GleamSnorlaxZen HeadbuttBody Slam*Honorable mentions: Chansey (Zen Headbutt/Dazzling Gleam), Slaking (Yawn/Play Rough) RockThe glory days of Rock type attackers has likely come and gone. Phenomenal choices against the Legendary Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia, Ho-oh), Rock types achieved a whole new level of excellence with the advent of Smack Down for the Larvitar Community Day.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveTyranitarSmack Down*Stone EdgeHonorable mentions: Golem (Rock Throw/Stone Edge), Omastar (Rock Throw*/Rock Slide*) WaterHelpful with a few Legendary raid bosses (Entei, Groudon, Regirock), Water types are also good with soloing some difficult Tier 3 bosses (Claydol, Donphan) and/or dealing super effective damage against the occasional favorable match up against potential Rock type gym defenders.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveKyogreWaterfallHydro PumpGyaradosWaterfallHydro PumpHonorable mentions: Vaporeon (Water Gun/Hydro Pump) ElectricElectric types provide that DPS edge against Water and Flying type Legendary raid bosses such as Suicune, Kyogre, and Lugia. Raikou, with its substantial bulk on top of great attack, excelled at these raids, as well as a gym attacker either as a reasonable generalist or against the occasional Gyarados.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveRaikouThunder ShockWild ChargeHonorable mentions: Zapdos (Thunder Shock*/Thunderbolt), Jolteon (Thunder Shock/Thunderbolt) FairyFairy has yet to see much use in the metagame, primarily due to the lack of a Fairy type Fast Move. still, Gardevoir is by far the best Fairy type attacker at the moment, being the optimal choice to counter pure Fighting attacks, which makes it a rather good pick as a gym defenderPokémonFast MoveCharged MoveGardevoirConfusionDazzling Gleam GroundGround is a type that is absolutely crippled by terrible move stats. The best Ground type move, Drill Run, is unavailable to any Pokemon with a respectable attack stat. That being said, it is the one and only type to counter pure Electric types.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveGroudonMud ShotEarthquakeHonorable mentions: Rhydon (Mud Slap/Earthquake) GrassGrass is a type whose favorable match ups can often be replaced by better options. Nonetheless, Community Day has made Venusaur a respectable Grass type attacker, should the occasion arise, while Sceptile is a crowd favorite alternative attacker. But as many in the comments have pointed out, in Clear Weather, Venusaur rises to the top in favorable match-ups, outperforming other type options.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveVenusaurVine WhipFrenzy Plant*Honorable mentions: Sceptile (Fury Cutter/Leaf Blade), (Alolan) Exeggutor (Bullet Seed/Solar Beam) FireFire is one of those types whose attack effectiveness can usually be covered by other types. Its effectiveness against Ice and Steel, for example, can be covered by hordes of Machamp instead. Nevertheless, there are solid Fire attackers whose Damage Per Second are hard to match, and in Clear Weather, Moltres is nearly unparalleled.PokémonFast MoveCharged MoveMoltresFire SpinOverheatHonorable mentions: Entei (Fire Spin/Overheat), Charizard (Fire Spin/Blast Burn*) IceIce has not seen as much use since the days of Rayquaza raids, either due to the frail (Jynx) or mediocre attack (Piloswine, Articuno) stats of its best options. It only really shines in its double Super Effectiveness against Dragon/Flying types, but even then, there are respectible alternatives (Smack Down Tyranitar, other Dragon types) to deal with those threats.Honorable mentions: Mewtwo (Psycho Cut/Ice Beam), Jynx (Frost Breath/Avalanche), Piloswine (Ice Shard/Avalanche), Articuno (Frost Breath/Ice Beam) BugBug is a hidden contender of a attacking type. Its primary utility is dealing with Psychic types wielding Focus Blast or in the rain. That, along with the Mighty Moth challenge, are unfortunately the precious few times that people pay attention to Bug types.Honorable mentions: Pinsir (Bug Bite/X-Scissor), Scizor (Fury Cutter/X-Scissor), Scyther (Fury Cutter/X-Scissor) FlyingFlying is a niche type whose favorable matchups are often outperformed by other types. As such, only alternative movesets from some of the heaviest hitters are viable Flying type attackers.Honorable mentions: Rayquaza (Air Slash/Aerial Ace), Moltres (Fire Spin/Sky Attack*), Dragonite (Dragon Tail/Hurricane) SteelSteel types don't currently have much of a role in the metagame. Only once Fairy type raid bosses and defenders show up in force will Steel be a viable attacking type. Before the release of Gen 4, the best Steel attacker by a WIDE margin will be (Community Day) Metagross.Honorable mentions: Metagross (Bullet Punch/Meteor Mash**) PoisonJust... no. * Denotes moves that are no longer available to newly obtain through TMs and/or evolution.** Denotes a move that is not yet available in-game at the time of writing this post. ConclusionThe Gen 3 era of Pokémon Go has given rise to a fun and relatively simple metagame. A handful of the meta-relevant members rely on Legacy moves, which will come at the misfortune of new/returning players (as well as those who weren't able to participate in the time-specific exclusive events like Community Day). Gen 4 is on the horizon, however, and I believe that above all else, the most important thing it will bring is diversity. Adding new and differently-typed Pokémon into the meta will enrich it, which to me is very exciting.So that's it! If you see and information and/or formatting errors, feel free to let me know! Safe travels and happy hunting, Trainers! Edit 1: Upgraded Frenzy Plant Venusaur as fully meta-relevant, by popular demand; included Houndoom as an honorable Dark type; minor text fixes.Edit 2: Upgraded Overheat Moltres as fully meta-relevantEdit 3: Added in the Eggy bois as honorable Grass mentions via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2EnC8nu